OFB-EZ®—Business Continuity Planning

Many businesses are not prepared to respond to a man-made or natural disaster. Small businesses are particularly at risk because they may have all of their operations concentrated in one location that is damaged or destroyed.

Business continuity planning is vital to survival and should not be put off indefinitely as you focus on today’s challenges. It’s important to devote enough time and attention to planning for the future, even when that future may involve events that are unpleasant to think about and, hopefully, not likely to happen. IBHS offers a variety of resources to assist with this important planning process.

IBHS’ Business Continuity Toolkit is OFB-EZ®

OFB-EZ (Open for Business-EZ) is a free business continuity tool designed to help even the smallest businesses focus on planning for any type of business interruption, so they can quickly re-open and resume operations following a disaster. With its non-technical language and streamlined layout, any business owner can create an easy-to-use recovery plan tailored to the individual business, providing confidence if the worst occurs.

Business owners create their own business continuity plan using the program’s eight modules.

OFB-EZ Mobile guides users through an easy process to create a recovery plan that will help even the smallest business recover and re-open quickly after a disaster. The app includes several helpful planning tools, such as evaluation checklists to help business users understand their risks, and forms for users to enter and store important contact information for employees, key customers, suppliers and vendors.

OFB-EZ (Open for Business-EZ) is available now at no charge as a mobile app. The new app was made possible by IBHS member company, EMC Insurance Companies, who partnered with IBHS to develop OFB-EZ Mobile™.

To help keep small businesses “open for business,” IBHS developed the EZ-PREP severe weather emergency preparedness and response planning toolkit. It is designed as a stand-alone guide, along with a customizable checklist, that can be used by any small business to build a plan for responding to operational disruptions.

To be best prepared, businesses should implement both programs to protect their businesses and bottom lines.